The Miami-based pop-up turned brick-and-mortar El Primo Red Tacos is set to debut in the East Village very soon.
Birria, a slow-cooked Mexican speciality colloquially called red tacos in the U.S., became trendy on the West Coast a few years ago and slowly made its way across the country. El Primo’s owner Frank Neri is a native of Tijuana, Mexico, who is considered responsible for bringing the red taco trend to Florida. He debuted his pop-up in Miami in 2020, which was wildly successful and has since evolved into a brick-and-mortar that has been voted the best taco joint in the city. The East Village outpost will mark its second establishment. It is taking over a space that has been vacant since June 2017 when the 99-cent slice shop, Mamani Pizza, closed.
While El Primo’s specialty crimson-tinted tacos are guaranteed to be on the menu, El Primo is also slated to offer unique menu items such as birriramen, a Mexican spin on Asian ramen noodles, as well as classics like nachos and chips with guacamole. It also plans to offer margaritas, tequila and mezcal shots, the Mexican beers Tecate and Modelo, as well as sodas. Neri stood before Manhattan Community Board Three last August to obtain his liquor license.
